Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 266

Aurora’s P.O.V

As we stepped into the front gardens of the pack house, the evening air wrapped around us like a soft whisper, carrying the scent of damp earth and fresh blossoms. The sky above was painted in streaks of gold and indigo, the last traces of daylight clinging stubbornly to the horizon. Shane walked beside me, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, his gait casual but deliberate, like he was waiting for the right moment to say something. 

“Aurora,” he finally muttered, casting me a side glance, his lips twitching into something between a smirk and a frown. “I don’t think we should go any further.” He slowed his pace slightly, his gaze flicking toward the trees beyond the gardens, shadows stretching between their trunks as night crept in. “Caleb would skin me alive if he thought I was leading you into danger.” 

I stopped walking and turned to face him, crossing my arms over my chest. “Shane, I’m home.” My voice was steady, unwavering. “I’m not in any danger.” 

He studied me for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with a scoff, he ran a hand through his tousled hair. “You sound so sure,” he muttered, shaking his head. “That’s new.” His gaze locked onto mine, something cautious and curious flickering in his eyes. “You’ve changed.” 

I held his gaze, refusing to look away. “A lot has happened since the last time you saw me.” My voice was softer this time, but no less firm. “You might be surprised to find that you can’t just walk all over me anymore.” 

Shane’s brows lifted, surprise flashing across his face before he let out a short, breathy laugh. “I never walked all over you, Aurora,” he said, though his voice lacked conviction. “Did I?” 

I tilted my head, a knowing smile playing on my lips. “You tell me.” 

For a moment, he just stood there, as if seeing me in a completely different light. Whatever he had expected from this conversation, it clearly wasn’t this. Finally, he let out a low chuckle, shaking his head again. “Damn,” he muttered under his breath. “I really don’t know what to make of you anymore.” 

I turned back toward the path, feeling a quiet sense of satisfaction settle in my chest. “Maybe that’s a good thing,” I murmured, more to myself than to him.

Shane’s laughter rings through the air, and for the first time, it doesn’t carry that familiar mocking edge I’d grown so used to. It’s genuine—carefree, even. I watch him, the way his shoulders shake slightly, the way his eyes crinkle at the corners. It’s strange, seeing him like this, so different from the boy who once made my life miserable. When he finally catches his breath, he shakes his head and meets my gaze, his expression shifting into something softer. 

"I wasn't planning on it, you know," he says, a trace of amusement still lingering in his voice. "But the detention center for juvenile wolves is no better than a well-disciplined army camp. They don’t just lock you up and throw away the key. They train you, put you through therapy… It’s a whole process. And as much as I hated it at first, I think—no, I know—it made me better." His voice carries a weight I hadn’t heard before, a sincerity that feels foreign coming from him. "I'm in a much better place than I was when I left." 

I study him for a moment, trying to reconcile this version of Shane with the one I used to know. The one who took pleasure in making my early high school years unbearable. The one who always had a smirk on his face and a cruel remark ready to go. And yet, the person standing in front of me now isn’t that boy. He’s something else entirely—someone older, someone who has seen things, someone who has changed. 

"What did you want to talk about?" I finally ask, my voice quieter than before. 

Shane’s expression shifts, the brief lightness disappearing as he sighs and bows his head. For the first time in this conversation, he looks… uncertain. Vulnerable. When he speaks again, his voice is lower, tinged with something raw. 

"I finally realized what an asshole I was to you," he admits, his fingers clenching into fists at his sides. "I don’t even have an excuse for it. I was a coward, and I took out all my shit on you because it was easy. Because I knew you wouldn't fight back the way I deserved. And I get it now. I really do. I learned my lesson, but—" He hesitates, shaking his head. "I don’t know if you could ever forgive me for it." 

His words hang between us, heavy and unspoken for far too long. I inhale deeply, feeling the weight of everything he’s done, everything I endured because of him. That time had been hell, and Shane had played a big part in that. The whispers, the cruel jokes, the moments when I felt like I was completely alone—he had been the reason for so much of it. And yet… I had moved past it. It no longer had the power to hurt me the way it once did. 

I exhale slowly, looking at him—not just at the boy who hurt me, but at the man who stood before me now, trying to make things right. "I don’t feel like holding on to past grudges," I say finally, my voice steady. "I can see that you’re sorry. That you’ve learned your lesson. And I don’t want to carry this anger around anymore. So… yeah. I forgive you. It’s not easy, but I don’t see the point in holding on to the past anymore." 

Shane’s head snaps up, his eyes wide with disbelief. For a moment, he looks like he doesn’t know what to say. And then, his shoulders sag with relief, and he lets out a breathless, almost disbelieving chuckle. 

“You—” he tried, but I can see that he is struggling to find the right words.

I nod, but I’m not done yet. Maybe we’ll never be friends. Maybe we’ll never erase the past completely. But the first step towards healing…was letting go.